Email: rachelkramerbussel at gmail.com



 

Lusty Lady

BLOG OF RACHEL KRAMER BUSSEL
Watch my first and favorite book trailer for Spanked: Red-Cheeked Erotica. Get Spanked in print and ebook

Thursday, July 31, 2008

The Spanked virtual book tour is here - win a copy from Alison Tyler!

Spanked virtual book tour logo

Today is Day 1 of the Spanked virtual book tour and guess what?

You can win a copy of Spanked from Alison Tyler! Get on over there to tell her your favorite spanking memory and read her thoughts on the joys of spanking. She also shows us these super-cool Spank Me panties you can buy on Etsy, and shares the definition of spanking - how hot is that? In the best, nerdy sort of way!

spank
–verb (used with object)
1. to strike (a person) with the open hand, a slipper, etc., esp. on the buttocks, as in punishment.
–noun
2. a blow given in spanking; a smart or resounding slap.


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Hear Nina Hartley tonight at In The Flesh: LA

I am really jealous of all you LA folks - you get the new Johnny Cupcakes store opening on Saturday and the chance to see Nina Hartley tonight for Surprises night at In The Flesh: LA.

For our third go-around, we’ve poached from all different kinds of mediums to bring you an incredible, eclectic mix of writers, authors and performers ready and willing to open up to you. The theme of the evening is “Surprises” as expressed by Marty Barrett (Fleshbot), who routinely circles the adult industry with a clever turn of phrase; Seth Greenland (Shining City), whose latest novel will have you trying to peek into your drycleaner’s back room; Nina Hartley (Nina Hartley’s Guide to Total Sex), who – quite simply – is a porn legend; Jeff Miller (Thrillist), who helps tip dudes on what’s cool; and Colleen Wainwright (Communicatrix), who has braved internet dating tools and live to tell the tale both humorously and eloquently. Author’s books will also be on sale.

In the Flesh: L.A. (the West coast version of In The Flesh founded by Rachel Kramer Bussel) is a monthly reading series held the last Thursday of every month at Freddy and Eddy, and features the city's best journalists, authors, scriptwriters and more offering their torrid tales for your entertainment and titillation, hosted and curated by writer/editor Carly Milne (Sexography, Hooking Up, Naked Ambition). From secret dirty confessions to unique sexual insights (and even the odd embarrassment or two), these writers get naked on the page and will make you lust after them and their words. Complimentary cookies and cupcakes are courtesy of Schmerty's. The event is free, but a suggested $10 door fee will be donated to the Rape and Incest National Network. In The Flesh: L.A. debuted in May 2008.

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Tuesday, July 29, 2008

New Ida EP My Fair, My Dark out now

Ida

I have probably listened to Ida's cover of "Road to Ruin" about...20 times tonight. Seriously. Listen at the Polyvinyl site. Can't wait to commune with the new album.

j. poet at Crawdaddy Magazine writes about the new EP and Ida's music overall:

The music, like the moonlight in the song, is so sparse as to be almost invisible, still it’s imbued with a restrained power that gets under your skin and into your heart like the memory of a lover’s whispered goodbye that jolts you out of your late night slumber.

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Beautiful, bloody, boxing burlesque star Julie Atlas Muz

JD Weiner was kind enough to let me post this Julie Atlas Muz photo (via Flickr). She is so amazingly talented, creative, and sexy, I urge you to go see her when you can. What I really love about her is that she is blonde, conventionally hot/attractive, and she plays with that, but she also plays against that. She doesn't go for what's easy or simple and isn't there to just turn her audience on (though she does that too). She fucks with their heads, twists beauty into something not ugly, but dangerous almost. She wants you to think for your arousal, and to my eye, would rather have you walk away confused or shaken up or slack-jawed than simply turned on.

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Get Frisky with it (and me)



I've been remiss in posting about many things related to the awesome site The Frisky, which I check out every day, so here are a few:

1. I wrote about sleeping with a "dirty old man" (and I mean that in the best possible way - he was very dirty, very kinky, 53, and...a grandfather) - I hope to write more for them in the future, just very very busy with other projects at the moment.

2. They just nominated me as one of five women they'd like to see on the cover of a magazine! As long as I can pose with a cupcake, I'm there.

In the interest of full-disclosure, Rachel writes for The Frisky, but we’ve admired her skills with the sexy word makin’ long before we launched. In fact, we, at the very least, have tried to mirror her honesty and fearlessness on this blog. So we’re psyched she’s writing for us—but don’t miss out on everything she pens elsewhere.

3. They just hired Susannah Breslin as an outreach coordinator.

They post way too many cool things for me to highlight them now, so just go to their site - I'm sure you'll find much you like. Oh and the awesome Judy McGuire is writing for them now too!

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Kindle me!



I don't yet own a Kindle (Amazon's e-reader), but maybe you do...and if so, you can buy some of my books. I just discovered this while browsing Amazon, and was very excited about it. Portable erotica for just $9.99! Here's what's available, all from Cleis Press:



Spanked: Red-Cheeked Erotica




Yes, Sir: Erotic Stories of Female Submission


Yes, Ma'am: Erotic Stories of Male Submission



Caught Looking: Erotic Tales of Voyeurs and Exhibitionists

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Sunday, July 27, 2008

Rock Out With Your Cupcake Out

I saw this ad for Cupcake Royale in The Stranger and simply adored it. Was weird to read Seattle alt weeklies that I primarily read online; got to see Judy McGuire's latest Dategirl column in Seattle Weekly too.

Rock Out With Your Cupcake Out

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Cool NYC goings on this week

I'll post a full trip report sometime this week, including photos. 3 days in the woods of Silverton, Washington, with my guy and his family and doggies and children. And food, but of course! For now I will say that though they are not Jewish, the feasts reminded me of my family (in a good way). It was super relaxing, in no small part because I did not speak on the phone or go on the Internet for 3 days!

So, without further ado, some cool happenings this week:

Monday, July 28th

Wasp Cove!!! It is one of the funniest things going on in NYC imo. Also, in October episode 104 is called "The Abortion." This show is beyond campy, hilarious 80's soap opera drama insanity. Bigger version of poster here.

Wasp Cove, July 28th

WASP COVE
Episode 103: Eenie, Meeny, Miny...MADNESS

In This Month's Episode:
Donna is admitted into the sanitarium under the care of Dr. Salvatore
Verrazano, a tempestuous Sicilian psychiatrist. Daryl tries to seduce
Rip anew, and Daryl's son Wes finally has his way with Sloane. Sexually.

Monday, July 28th @ 8 PM
(Tonight! Holy Cats!)
at Comix
353 West 14th Street
b/n 8th & 9th Avenues NYC
212-352 2716
http://comixny.com for tickets
Tickets $15 in advance $20 at the door
http://waspcove.tumblr.com/

Starring:
Chris Caniglia, Megan Stern, Rachel Shukert, Ryan Karels, Julie Klausner, Jodi Lennon, and David Rakoff

With Special Guests:
Anthony Atamanuik (30 Rock)
Gary Rudoren (Comedy By The Numbers)
Eli Newell (UCB)
Tammy Lang (Tammy Faye Starlite)

Written & Created by Rachel Shukert & Julie Klausner
Directed by Peter Cook

Tuesday, July 29th

Julie Atlas Muz in WANTED!

Julie Atlas Muz is an amazing burlesque performer. She's been a mermaid at The Coral Room, and I've seen her do everything from a reverse striptease to a mock cocaine number while naked. She is gorgeous and intense and fierce and smart and packs all these qualities and more into her performances. Check out this hot photo of her as a boxer, and, be still my heart, her doing burlesque with cupcakes (see way more of Stacie Joy's Julie Atlas Muz photos here)

DOC & JAM Productions Bring You:
WANTED! Wild Bandits of Burlesque
Tuesday, July 29th (and Every Last Tuesday of the Month)
Show at 11pm; Live music with the Second Fiddles at 9 pm
Rodeo Bar
375 3rd Avenue at 27th Street
New York , NY
NEVER A COVER
(2 drink minimum)
Subway: 6 train to 28th Street

July's saloon/salon features Jennifer Miller, Trixie Little & The Evil Hate Monkey, Julie Atlas Muz, Dr. Lukki, and is hosted by Bradford Scobie as Cousin Rooster.

Wednesday, July 30th



Jennette Fulda, author of Half-Assed: A Weight-Loss Memoir and Pasta Queen blogger will be in town! (She'll be here cause she's going on CBS's The Early Show on Thursday, July 31st.) I loved her book so much (review TK) and you can listen to a podcast with her at Seal Press. I also highly highly recommend visiting her site for Half-Assed for insights into her publishing process. This was a weight loss memoir with more than just an "I lost weight and you can too!" angle. And she lost 192 pounds! Not only didn't she reveal which diet she was on, but she also took a broader cultural and political analysis and also stood up for fat people, even as she grappled with her own fat. I can't help but think that that's in part because it was published by feminist publisher Seal Press. I'm not saying there aren't other feminist-inspired weight loss memoirs out there, but I think she does a good job of looking at the culture around fat, food, exercise and body image around her and how that did and didn't influence her life, rather than just "and then I started running and the weight came off" or whatever. I've read, oh, a lot of weight loss memoirs and I think like any genre there can tend to be a sameness to them (read Maia Szalavitz's criticism of David Carr and addiction memoirs at Mother Jones), so anything that breaks out of that is quite welcome. Plus, Fulda's story lives on via her blogs. Here's what she says about Wednesday:

After much deliberation (aka a 9-minute phone call), we've decided to host a meet up at Swizz, a wine and fondue bar at 310 West 53rd St. between 8th and 9th Avenues. We'll be hanging around, dipping bread in cheese or chocolate, on Wednesday, July 30th from 7:30pm EST to probably 8:30 or 9:00ish. If you are around, feel free to drop in, say hi, have a drink, or snack on some cheese.

This is a "bring your own book" signing, meaning that if you want a copy of
Half-Assed signed to you, you should buy a book at your retailer of choice and bring it yourself. I'll have a couple of copies available on hand to sell for $15.95, but I can't guarantee they'll last. If you want to reserve a copy, contact me at halfofme (at) pastaqueen [dot] com and I'll give you instructions on how to do so.

You can contact Swizz for directions at 212-810-4444 or visit their web site at 1291swizz.com. I hope to see you there! If you plan on coming, please RSVP in the comments so I can give the restaurant an idea of how many people will be attending.

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Thursday, July 24, 2008

Need to interview people about "The Talk"

You know, The Talk. The one that comes with capital letters. The one you have at some point, often later rather than sooner, about "where your relationship is going." I'm doing a story on when couples have the talk, who initiates it, etc., and also want to incorporate social network relationship status messages into this; like, how do you know when it's time to change your Facebook/MySpace/Flickr/etc. profiles to no longer say single?

If you have anything to say about these topics (you can be anonymous, it's for an online magazine), email me at spankingantho at gmail.com (yes, I have another main email address, but this one's easier for me to track). Thanks!

In Seattle

I'm in Seattle, spending a few days in a cabin in the woods (outside Seattle) with my boyfriend and his family. I'm not even really supposed to be on the Internet, and am doing my best to stay away from it, but wanted to give a quick update.

I will post more when I'm back about my book trailer and the many folks who covered it this week - thanks especially to Eric Krangel at Silicon Alley Reporter for writing about it. As of right this second, the YouTube version has gotten 9,302 hits - not bad for it being up for a week! In the meantime, please do check out the Spanked blog, where I've got spanking news, interviews with contributors, and an interview with a paddle maker. It's been a good lesson in the fact that I pretty much live in a sex-positive bubble, and realizing that not everyone does is a good wake-up call. So more from me on that...soon.

I'm looking forward to some quiet time, which I don't get enough of at home.

Monday, July 21, 2008

the Rachel Shukert trifecta



Have You No Shame? author Rachel Shukert and I at In The Flesh (photo by Stacie Joy).

Rachel's been writing a LOT. Here are some of her recent pieces:

The story she read at In The Flesh (we didn't tape July, sorry)
"Unsanitary pad - My night in Nebraska's most terrifying lovenest," Nerve

"Why I Hate Summer," Salon

"The Protocols: An Introduction," Jewcy

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Group photo from July's In The Flesh

This photo was taken by Stacie Joy, who has a set from the July 17th reading. There will be more soon, but wanted to get this adorable one up (Jeremy Edwards not pictured).


Back row: Scott D. Pomfret, Rachel Shukert, Samara O'Shea, Susan Wright.
Front row: D.L. King, Rachel Kramer Bussel, Anna David

Visit the In The Flesh blog for their bios and links.

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Vimeo's response and book trailer thoughts

So, I heard back from Vimeo. They wrote that I had violated their terms and conditions of use. I just looked this over, and no, I have not read the entire thing, but I am still a little unclear as to how I erred. Now, as we all know, I didn't graduate from law school, but I don't think I should need a law degree to figure this out. It's okay though. I am not sure I'll be making any more book trailers; it was a lot of fun, but, uh, I need my books to do a little better than they're doing in order to justify shelling out that kind of cash. But if I do, I'll probably just skip Vimeo and go right to the sites that I already use (I joined Tubemogul and Vimeo and Blip specifically to upload the trailer, while I've been using YouTube for a while.

The one thing I can think it might be is...(and if this is the case, it's my bad, I listened to my director on this point) we didn't get permission to use the music. Which I'm sure can be removed if need be. If that were the case, I can have my director recut it without the music. Anyway, like I said earlier, this is all a little indie publishing experiment to try to reach people who'd never think of picking up a book like Spanked, who've maybe never heard of erotica or read any. The predominant word I'm hearing to describe the trailer is "cute," and I like that, because, well, I hope I am cute. Not just in looks or whatever, but I hope I bring both a kinky sensibility and an a somewhat innocent or wholesome or at the very least not jaded perspective to all this. I totally think there is room for giggling, in sex, and spanking, and book trailer making. We did plenty of that during the shoot. Thanks again for all your comments and support about the trailer.

I've realized, too, that while one part of me is thinking, "How many books do I need to sell to make this worthwhile?" there are other reasons to make a book trailer. A woman I've published several times and have emailed with over the past few years wrote that this was the first time she'd heard my voice. Even if you have your photo on the back cover of a book, or write a blog, or are public in some way, readers don't really know you, know you. I'm not saying they "know" me by me talking for less than 90 seconds in a book trailer, but I hope I infused it with some of my personality. There could have been other, more XXX ways to go with it, too, but I'm really proud of what we came up with. I'm not a spanking model and don't want to be; I prefer to save the really intense moments for privacy, or at least, not to videotape them. So it's not meant to be an insider look at what it feels like to get spanked; that's what you get when you read the book! It's supposed to be a fun, inclusive, accessible, a little sexy, and sure, cute. So no, I'm not heartbroken over the loss of Vimeo. It's okay, I just wanted to know what the problem was, because I do have those oral sex books coming out in September. I'm not really sure if there's a way to do a "tame" oral sex book trailer. But I do see lots of possibilities for playing in the snow for Bedding Down, my winter erotica novella collection. Not to worry - I'm mulling over the possibilities, time and money and energy permitting.

Anyway, just fyi for those who've asked. Again, you can watch it on YouTube and on Blip (see below, and you are more than welcome to embed either on your own blog). And if you want a personally autographed copy of Spanked for $14 including shipping (U.S.), write to me at spankingantho at gmail.com - I take Paypal (I'll give you the address).



from Vimeo's Conditions and Terms of Use:

All rights to ownership or use not expressly stated herein are reserved by Connected Ventures and Connected Ventures disclaims any and all implied licenses. Without limiting the foregoing, you agree not to: (i) reverse engineer, decompile, reverse compile, translate, adapt, or disassemble or otherwise access or adapt the Vimeo Technology, or any part thereof; (ii) copy, distribute, display, transmit or reproduce the Vimeo Technology, or any part thereof, in any form, including, but not limited to, fonts, icons, link buttons, wallpaper, and unlicensed merchandise; (iii) publish, display, disclose, sell, rent, lease, modify, store, loan, distribute, publicly display or perform, co-brand, frame, permit third parties to link to, or create compilations or derivative works of the Vimeo Technology, or any part thereof, including, but not limited to, using any part of the Vimeo Technology to create fonts, icons, links, buttons, wallpaper and unlicensed merchandise; (iv) assign, sublicense, convey, transfer, pledge as security or otherwise encumber the rights and licenses granted hereunder; (v) use the Vimeo Technology in any fashion that may infringe any patent, copyright, trademark, trade secret or any other intellectual property or proprietary right of Connected Ventures, its affiliates, its third party suppliers or any other third party; (vi) upload, post, email, transmit or otherwise make available any material that is unlawful, harmful, threatening, abusive, harassing, tortuous, defamatory, vulgar, obscene, libelous, invasive of another's privacy, hateful, or racially, ethnically or otherwise objectionable; (vii) use Vimeo Technology to harm minors in any way; (viii) fraudulently impersonate any person or entity, or falsely state or otherwise misrepresent your affiliation with a person or entity using Vimeo Technology; (ix) forge headers or otherwise manipulate identifiers in order to disguise the origin of any content transmitted through the Vimeo Technology; (x) upload, post, email, transmit or otherwise make available any materials that you do not have a right to make available under any law or under contractual or fiduciary relationships (such as inside information, proprietary and confidential information learned or disclosed as part of employment relationships or under nondisclosure agreements); (xi) upload, post, email, transmit or otherwise make available any unsolicited or unauthorized advertising, promotional materials, "junk mail," "spam," "chain letters," "pyramid schemes," or any other form of solicitation; (xii) upload, post, email, transmit or otherwise make available any material that contains software viruses, worms, trojans, spyware, adware or any other malicious computer code, files or programs designed to interrupt, destroy or limit the functionality of any computer software or hardware or telecommunications equipment; (xiii) interfere with or disrupt the Vimeo Technology or servers or networks connected to the Vimeo Technology, or disobey any requirements, procedures, policies or regulations of networks connected to the Vimeo Technology (including, but not limited, to the Website); and (xiv) "stalk" or otherwise harass another; or collect or store personal data about other users.

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Swooning

Over this image, and my way-too-late discovery that you can search on Flickr and narrow it down to images that are under a Creative Commons license. Well, now I know, and my blogging life will be a hell of a lot easier, though I have found with Cupcakes Take the Cake that about 95% of the time, when I ask, people let me use their photos. But still, this takes the guesswork out of it. And is how I discovered this hotness by Idan Cohen. It's part of an amazing set that has many more less risque, but perhaps even more captivating, images. Check them out.

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Sunday, July 20, 2008

Lindsay and Sam in the media

Lindsay Lohan and Samantha Ronson

I've been following the Lindsay Lohan/Samantha Ronson coverage pretty closely, and there's some interesting commentary from Kate Aurthur at the Los Angeles Times:

While many celebrities themselves have stopped hiding their same-sex relationships, the media have not until Lohan followed suit. Michael Musto, an openly gay columnist for the Village Voice, who himself has never engaged in that kind of self-censorship, has noticed a change. As Musto sees it, we've reached a moment in which the Lohan-Ronson pairing can simply be reported as a fact because people have, you know, eyes.

"Traditionally, the media has been as interested in closeting celebrities as the celebrities themselves have been," Musto said. "I've read things in gossip columns that would never go there in the past and realized, 'Wow, they're going there now.' They don't consider gay a dirty thing anymore. And it's very cool."

Jared Shapiro, the editor of Life & Style, said that the Lohan-Ronson story has indeed presented a unique set of issues for celebrity magazines. "Why is this couple different than every other couple?" Shapiro asked rhetorically recently on the telephone. "We know they're not friends -- we know they're in love, we know they're dating.


But for every interesting article like that that actually has something to say, there are umpteen headlines like this one:

"Lindsay can't stop cuddling lover Sam as they go on ANOTHER public date"

Call me crazy, but...aren't all dates public? I get that it's The Daily Mail and all, but come on. We've either come a long way or...we haven't. These are the kinds of headlines and incredulousness I think we're going to see a lot more of. Oh, and comments like this one:

Are you sure Samantha Ronson is a woman? She looks looks like a man!

- Ama Hinson, Luton Bedfordshire, 18/7/2008 17:15


Pretty much every site that allows comments has gotten some like this. Maybe same sex couples are getting treated with a teensy bit more tolerance in celebrity media, but butch/femme? Not so much.

What's also been interesting, with neither Lohan or Ronson officially talking about their relationship status, is the media's reliance on their social networking profiles (not without criticism). Apparently, the first of these Facebook pages is the official Ronson one. She reportedly changed her Facebook status to "in a relationship," much has been made of her official MySpace photo, and Lohan reportedly changed her name on Facebook to "Lindsay Ronson."

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Saturday, July 19, 2008

Neal Medlyn's Unpronounceable Symbol

Tonight I'm going to see the much-raved-about Neal Medlyn's Unpronounceable Symbol at PS 122. Find out more about Neal at www.nealmedlyn.com - it's his homage to Prince, and he's the one who told me about Bryant Lake Bowl right before my trip to Minneapolis, where he'd spent time researching Prince.

medlyn

NEAL MEDLYN'S UNPRONOUNCEABLE SYMBOL is Neal Medlyn's fourth and largest to date pop song tragic-comedic extravaganza. Following the success of his Lionel Richie Opera, R. Kelly cabaret, and wild and bloody spin on Phil Collins, Medlyn takes on the purple, hyper-sexualized world of Prince.

Set to many of Prince's biggest hits and infamous b-sides, all performed onstage by a live band, Neal plays out an evening of seduction and intense internal spiritual conflict between two characters: an engaged cab driver and a messianic libertine. Jealousy, band troubles, violence, death, a dream ballet, decent into hell and the eventual transubstantiation of body fluids and redemption all find their place in an operatic and overblown evening of androgynous musical entertainment.

With contributions from Kenny Mellman of Kiki and Herb, choreographer David Neumann, Carmine Covelli and Adrienne Truscott

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Grilled cheese with hot sauce = total food porn



How delicious does this grilled cheese sandwich my friend Coco made look? OMG! I am staying with her while I'm in Minneapolis - I wonder what it would take to bribe her to make me one? Click through for the mouth-watering recipe.

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Friday, July 18, 2008

August = Spanked virtual book tour

Yes, it's time for another virtual book tour, and this one is going to be very exciting. I've got contests, audio and video interviews, and much more planned, plus since spanking is such a hot topic, I was able to access the spanking blogosphere, which I am just now digging into. (Obviously many are NSFW.) See many more spankerrific inks at the Spanked blog, and if I missed yours or one you love, write me at spanking antho at gmail.com

Many thanks to James Jajac for drawing the logo! Designed by Justine Zwiebel.

Spanked virtual book tour logo

August 2008
Spanked Virtual Book Tour

1 – Alison Tyler
2 – The Cherry Red Report
3 – Thomas's spanking exploits
4 – Zille Defeu's Fetish Fantasies
5 – The House of Richard Windsor
6 – Funky Brown Chick
7 – Baser Instincts
8 – Life in Motion
9 – All Things Spanking
10 – Viviane's Sex Carnival
11 – Jamye Waxman
12 - Babeland
13 – NYC Urban Gypsy
14 – Femdom Spanking Blog
15 – Spanking Abby
16 – BadBadGirl
17 - Ellie Lumpesse
18 – Sugarbutch Chronicles
19 – Breathing In and Breathing Out
20 – Essin Em
21 – Pursed Lips
22 – Mixing It Up
23 – Domestic Spanking Blog
24 – Nobilis Erotica
25 – Naked City
26 – All About George
27 – Lolita's Predictions & Predilections
28 – Sexy Prime
29 – Naughty and Spice
30 – MeiLin Miranda
31 – AlwaysArousedGirl

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post-In The Flesh Friday wrapup

post-In The Flesh silliness

A silly little shot I took after last night's In The Flesh, where I was a huge stress mess due to having lugged 8 bags of stuff in a cab downtown and still managed to forget my Spanked books and postcards. In happy news, on August 21st, we're showing the Spanked trailer, hearing from several contributors, and there will be books. I did manage to serve copious amounts of food, including chocolate-covered peanut butter pretzels from Trader Joe's. YUMMY. Also, Samara O'Shea makes me swoon. And want to write in my journal. More on her brilliant new book Note to Self very soon. All the readers were great. I even got over my nerves and read part of Rick Roberts's story "Spanking You." Major thanks to Stacie and Desiree for helping me stay somewhat calm. And to all my lovely readers and, as always, the Happy Ending staff.

Right now, I still plan to end In The Flesh this December. I probably have to decide for real by September or October. I'm going to be doing things a little differently so I don't get so stressed, like bring the food and giveaway stuff there earlier in the week. I love my little reading series and want it to continue, but not if I'm totally out of it every month. In general right now I'm working on catching up and both seeing my friends and family and having some much-needed solo time so I can actually write more than a few sentences at a time. I'm also going to Seattle next weekend to visit my boyfriend, and his family, which will be an adventure, largely because by "Seattle" I mean an hour and a half outside of Seattle in a cabin. There has been talk of chainsaws. I am still stuck on what to pack.

I also just booked my trip to Minneapolis from August 8th-11th, where I will be visiting the likes of Courtney McLean, Max Sparber, Coco Mault, Alexis McKinnis, and Aaron Landry. I'm going to check out Courtney in The Fringe Festival, eat cupcakes with the newly formed Minneapolis Cupcake Meetup, and do a Dirty Girls reading on August 10th (plus open mic!) at the extra-fabulous Smitten Kitten, where there may be a week-old baby in attendance (co-owner Jennifer is due the week before). And, um...I want to go to the Mall of America. Oh, and on August 8th I will start a 21-day not-so-subliminal SXSW onslaught to get you to vote for my proposed panel "Nom Nom Nom: The Secrets of Successful Foodblogging." More on August 8th, but for now, 2 words: free cupcakes. Yes, I am willing to go all Gary Vaynerchuk and bribe you to show up to my panel, but first we have to get in.

I'm also still swooning over my book Spanked, even while trying to figure out why Vimeo took my book trailer down. Not to worry, you can watch it on YouTube or Blip. But still.

Spanked!

This week I got to be a guest co-host with Anna David on Sex Files on Sirius Radio. We had the wonderful Dare author and It Girl Abiola Abrams on and talked about all kinds of sexual fantasies, from rape fantasies to crossdressing and more. It was lots of fun. Here's me in the studio, and Anna and Abiola.

me on Sex Files

Anna David hosting Sex Files

Abiola Abrams in the Sirius Studio

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Thursday, July 17, 2008

My too hot for Flickr and Vimeo Spanked book trailer

My Spanked book trailer by What That Noise Productions has already been removed from Flickr and Vimeo! Am investigating Vimeo's reasoning, I'm thinking it's cause it's for "commercial purposes" because it's in no way porn, deliberately so. It's still on YouTube and Blip. Some dialogue is NSFW but there's no nudity. Enjoy!

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In The Flesh is tonight!

There are some serious snacks too, including chocolate peanut butter pretzels, dark chocolate covered pretzels, tortilla chips (blue corn and spicy), mini cupcakes, mini brownies, and lots more!

And see Ashna Ali's fabulous writeup of June's In The Flesh on New York Press's blog!

IN THE FLESH EROTIC READING SERIES
July 17th at 8 PM
AT HAPPY ENDING LOUNGE, 302 BROOME STREET, NYC
(B/D to Grand, J/M/Z to Bowery, F to Delancey or F/V to 2nd Avenue, http://www.happyendinglounge.com)
Admission: Free
Happy Ending Lounge: 212-334-9676
http://inthefleshreadingseries.blogspot.com

In The Flesh
features a range of authors, from erotic writers D.L. King, editor of Erotica Revealed, and Susan Wright (A Pound of Flesh) to letter lover Samara O’Shea (Note to Self, For the Lover of Letters), memoirist Scott Pomfret (Since My Last Confession), Jeremy Edwards, (Clean Sheets, F is for Fetish), novelist Anna David (Party Girl) and playwright/memoirist Rachel Shukert (Have You No Shame?). Hosted by Rachel Kramer Bussel (Spanked, Rubber Sex, Dirty Girls). Free candy and cupcakes will be served.

In the Flesh is a monthly reading series hosted at the appropriately named Happy Ending Lounge, and features the city's best erotic writers sharing stories to get you hot and bothered, hosted and curated by acclaimed erotic writer and editor Rachel Kramer Bussel. From erotic poetry to down and dirty smut, these authors get naked on the page and will make you lust after them and their words. Since its debut in October 2005, In the Flesh has featured such authors as Laura Antoniou, Mo Beasley, Lily Burana, Jessica Cutler, Tracie Egan, Stephen Elliott, Valerie Frankel, Polly Frost, Gael Greene, HoneyB, Andy Horwitz, Debra Hyde, Maxim Jakubowski, Emily Scarlet Kramer of CAKE, Josh Kilmer-Purcell, Edith Layton, Logan Levkoff, Suzanne Portnoy, Sofia Quintero, M.J. Rose, Lauren Sanders, Danyel Smith, Grant Stoddard, Cecilia Tan, Carol Taylor, Dana Vachon, Veronica Vera, Susan Wright, Zane and many others. The series has gotten press attention from the New York Times’s UrbanEye, Escape (Hong Kong), Flavorpill, The L Magazine, New York Magazine, Philadelphia City Paper, Time Out New York, Gothamist, Nerve.com and Wonkette, and has been praised by Dr. Ruth. This is not Amanda Stern’s Happy Ending Reading Series.



Rachel Kramer Bussel is Senior Editor at Penthouse Variations, conducts interviews for Mediabistro.com, and wrote the popular Lusty Lady column for The Village Voice. Her erotic stories have been published in over 100 anthologies, including Best American Erotica 2004 and 2006, and she’s edited numerous anthologies, most recently Spanked, Rubber Sex, Yes, Sir, Yes, Ma’am, Dirty Girls, and Best Sex Writing 2008. Rachel has also written for AVN, Bust, Cosmopolitan, Gothamist, Mediabistro, Metro, New York Post, Punk Planet, San Francisco Chronicle, Time Out New York and Velvetpark.
www.rachelkramerbussel.com



HarperCollins released Anna David's novel, Party Girl, in 2007, the same year that an essay of hers appeared in the Dutton anthology Girls Who Like Boys Who Like Boys. Harper Perennial will release Anna's second novel, Kept Waiting, in March of 2009. Anna is also the sex and relationship expert on G4’s Attack of the Show, appears every month on the Fox News cult favorite Red Eye as a cultural commentator, has been featured regularly on The Today Show, Hannity & Colmes, and Showbiz Tonight, and occasionally pops up on MTV News, VH1 and E. Her Sirius radio show on the Maxim channel, "Sex Files," is the network's number-one specialty show. A former magazine writer, Anna is now the dating columnist for the Women's Entertainment Network's website, wetv.com, as well as the Editor-in-Chief of musician will.i.am's political blog, Dipdive. She's written celebrity cover stories, first-person essays, and reported pieces for The New York Times, The LA Times, Vanity Fair, Cosmo, Redbook, Self, Stuff, TV Guide, Movieline, Women’s Health, Ocean Drive, Vegas, The Saturday Telegraph, Esquire UK, Teen Vogue, Variety, LA Confidential, Tatler (Hong Kong), Emmy, msn.com and Maxim, among others.
www.annadavid.com

Jeremy Edwards is a pseudonymous sort of fellow whose efforts at spinning libido into literature have been widely published online (at Clean Sheets, Good Vibrations, Erotic Woman, and other sites). Some of his many anthology trysts have occurred within the pages of A Is for Amour; F Is for Fetish; Got a Minute?; J Is for Jealousy; K Is for Kinky; Mammoth Book of Best New Erotica 7; Open for Business; and Rubber Sex. Out on the newsstand, his lascivious prose has been seen in Scarlet. Jeremy's greatest goal in life is to be sexy and witty at the same moment—ideally in lighting that flatters his profile. Drop in on him unannounced (and thereby catch him in his underwear) at http://jerotic.blogspot.com

D. L. King is the founder and editor of the critical review site, Erotica Revealed. Her second novel, The Art of Melinoe, was published by Renaissance E Books last October. Her short stories can be found in several anthologies, some of the most recent being Best Lesbian Erotica 2008, Yes, Sir: Erotic Stories of Female Submission and Yes, Ma'am: Erotic Stories of Male Submission. She is currently editing a new anthology for Cleis Press.
www.dlkingerotica.com



Samara O'Shea is an outspoken advocate on behalf of the written word. She is the author of the forthcoming Note to Self: On Keeping a Journal and Other Dangerous Pursuits (July 2008) and For the Love of Letters: A 21st-Century Guide to the Art of Letter Writing. For more information or to order a letter that Samara will gladly write on your behalf, visit LetterLover.net.



Scott D. Pomfret is author of Since My Last Confession, an irreverent and lighthearted memoir in the style of Michael Moore’s Roger & Me describing three years of stalking the Archbishop of Boston during the Massachusetts same-sex marriage debate. Pomfret’s other works include Romentics gay romance novels, The Q Guide to Wine and Cocktails, and dozens of short stories.
www.scottpomfret.com www.sincemylastconfession.com



Rachel Shukert is an author, playwright, and performer. Her first book, Have You No Shame? And Other Regrettable Stories, was published in April 2008 by Random House/Villard. Rachel's plays include Bloody Mary, Johnny Applefucker, The Worshipped, The Red Beard of Esau, and Sequins for Satan have been produced and developed extensively throughout New York City, Massachusetts, and the Netherlands. She is currently starring in the live soap opera "Wasp Cove" which she co-creates and writes with Julie Klausner. She is also a co-founder of the theater group the Bushwick Hotel. Her writing has appeared in Nerve, Heeb, McSweeney's, and Babble, and featured in Best Sex Writing 2008 (Rachel Kramer Bussel, ed.), Best American Erotic Poems: 1800-present (ed. David Lehman) and The Future of Misbehavior (Chronicle Books) alongside Rick Moody, Douglas Rushkoff, and Will Self. She was born in raised in Omaha, Nebraska, and now lives in NYC with her husband and her cat.
www.rachelshukert.com



Susan Wright's latest erotic fantasy novel is A Pound of Flesh, the sequel to To Serve and Submit, published by Penguin Books. Susan is also the founder and spokesperson for the National Coalition for Sexual Freedom. She's written over 25 novels and nonfiction books on art and popular culture.
www.susanwright.info

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Wednesday, July 16, 2008

Yay! A double honor - Best Lesbian Erotica 2009

My very first erotica story, "Monica and Me," was published in two anthologies - Shar Rednour's Starf*cker and Tristan Taormino's Best Lesbian Erotica 2001, guest edited by Patrick Califia. I still love those books with a passion.

But now, while I still write erotica, I think I'm more known as an erotica editor. Both have their rewards (and challenges). I'm not sure the average person realizes that editing an anthology is not just about selecting twentysomething hot stories. That's the fun part. The not fun parts are, well, many, namely rejecting other stories, reformatting, proofreading, proofreading again, sending out and receiving contracts, paying twentysomething people, sending their addresses to my publisher, and now, for me, setting up blogs for each book. I also make sure to submit my authors' work to various "Best Of" anthologies, because I believe in them and it's an honor when that happens.

So this year, like with Best American Erotica 2006, I get to be "in" Best Lesbian Erotica 2009 twice - as the author of "Hard to Get," which was originally published in Zane's Purple Panties anthologies, and as the editor of Chelsea G. Summers's (of Pretty Dumb Things fame) story "Stuck at Work and Late for a Date" which I published in Yes, Sir: Erotic Stories of Female Submission. I'm especially thrilled because this is Tristan's last year editing the Best Lesbian Erotica series. She's turning it over to the very capable, multi-BLE-published author and Drunken! Careening! Writers! Reading Series host Kathleen Warnock (click here for the Best Lesbian Erotica 2010 writer's guidelines). It's things like this (in addition to royalty checks) that make the minutiae of editing anthologies worth it. The reading the stories part is great fun, a lot of the rest of it, not to so much, but sometimes, the blogs really take off (yes, the Spanked blog now officially gets more traffic than this boring old one).



Best Lesbian Erotica 2009

edited by Tristan Taormino, guest editor Joan Larkin

The Virgin of G Jean Casse
The Diner on the Corner Zaedryn Meade
Operation Butch Ambush Tawanna Sullivan
Bait and Switch Nairne Holtz
Park Sex Jessica Swafford
Spike Jodi Payne
Punk Love Victoria Gimpelevich
Lipstick on Her Collar Sacchi Green
Dream Date Radclyffe
On Snow-White Wings Shanna Germain
Tough Enough to Wear a Dress Teresa Noelle Roberts
A Night at the Opera Evan Mora
Please (Act III) Linda Suzuki
Hard to Get Rachel Kramer Bussel
Waiting Dylynn DeSaint
The Placement of Modifiers Jean Roberta
Velvet by Lisabet Sarai
Stuck at Work and Late for a Date Chelsea G. Summers
Bandanna Kiss by Moxzi Lantana
Flipping the Script D. Alexandria
The Breaking Point Lucinda L. Flanary
The Christmas Gift Thea Leticia
Blade, Ink, Steel Sharon Wachsler
Beneath the Carpet is the Floor Anna Watson

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Monday, July 14, 2008

Cory Doctorow interview at Bookavore

At Bookavore, there's an interview with Cory Doctorow where he talks about Little Brother, YA writing, Obama, and more. Also, his next YA book is going to be called For The Win, which just so happens to also be the title of an amazing song by my favorite band, The Reputation. Also, I'd never been to Bookavore before, but discovered one of the greatest blog names ever, Hitting on Girls in Bookstores.

“There’s three crucial things you need to do if you want to still have rights when you become an adult:
1. Fix your technology so that it obeys you and not the other way around. Learn how to keep your email and other communications secret. Develop practices around Facebook, Bebo, Myspace, etc, that reflect the fact that your disclosures there will haunt you forever. Show your friends how to be private and secure, too.
2. Learn how to debate intelligently about security. Demand to know what happens when a system *fails* — not just what it’s supposed to do when it works. We wouldn’t accept a car that exploded at random intervals, no matter how good its gas mileage was. By the same token, we shouldn’t accept “anti-terrorist” surveillance and control systems that fail badly, by ensnaring innocent people in unjust circumstances. Learn how the math of rare events work — you can’t be secure until you know how to assess risk and you can’t do that without security. If we spend a trillion dollars to stop terrorists who kill *n* people/year, what other life-saving systems (food-banks, public health, road-ploughing, etc) do we starve of a trillion dollars, and is the number of people who die as a result larger than n?
3. Get involved in electoral politics. A country where NONE OF THE ABOVE is the most frequent winner of the presidential race is a country where politicians can safely ignore the voters, and style themselves as rulers, rather than leaders...

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Sunday, July 13, 2008

The forgotten paddle

It was one of those days, where I got home late from the spa, had to scramble this morning to gather outfits and implements. I have 2 very pretty paddles...somewhere. But I did have this pretty purple heart-shaped one that would've looked great in the trailer. Guess who put it in her bag, then thought she'd forgotten it and didn't see it in there? Whoops. Still, I have learned, especially with this, not to overthink it. I wrote the "script" yesterday and we improvised a lot and Sara is going to work her directorial magic. I have many deadlines to meet and have been distracted enough this weekend. I'm really excited to see where the book trailer winds up; I've been a YouTube member for a while, but now it's time to join Vimeo, Blip, Viddler, Tubemogul and whatever other sites I can find to spread the word.

We have a big campaign planned ("we" really means me but it sounds nicer that way, doesn't it?), including an August virtual book tour and telling everyone I know and many I don't about the trailer. I'm excited. It's an experiment, about a book I believe is my best one yet. So here's something that didn't make it in, but is still worth ogling:

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I don't think I'm ever gonna figure it out

My weekend description could kindof start out, "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times." Some of it isn't bloggable for various reasons, but there were some very high highs and some very low lows. It's Sunday night and there are still a few things I have to finish, like my SXSW Interactive panel picker submissions. I owe a huge debt of thanks to Desiree, who took me all the way out to Queens yesterday to visit Spa World. I had no idea what wondrousness awaited me!

Anyway, Starbucks is closing soon and I don't want to dwell on this, but just had a few thoughts to share. Last weekend, I watched this movie Georgia Rule, starring Jane Fonda as Lindsay Lohan's grandmother. The mom is a total drunk, the stepfather is (probably) molesting Lindsay, and she goes to live with her grandmother. There was a lot of messiness all around in the film, but at one point there was a song I'd never heard before. "That sounds like Elliott Smith," I thought. And it was, a b-side called "I Don't Think I'm Ever Gonna Figure It Out."

it's like some wild last frontier
you never know what kind of fight's gonna appear
that once begun can't be won
started out losing already and go all ten rounds
i don't think i'm ever gonna figure it out


I've been thinking about it ever since I heard it, because it's classic Elliot. And because, well, Elliott never did "figure it out." He died, and whether you think there was foul play involved or not, clearly the man had issues. Mary Lou Lord wrote a song she always says was inspired by Jimi Hendrix, but could just as easily been inspired by Elliott, called "Stars Burn Out," which also addresses the same thing. At the end of the day, I don't know if anyone actually has it all figured out. Some people fake it really well, and others look for ways to absolve themselves from ever trying to figure it out. And other people really humbly accept that they may never have all the answers, and don't strive for perfection, but instead, just try. Try to live and survive and make mistakes and learn from them. Try not to hurt the people they care about. Try to be as good as they can be.

My friend Felicia Sullivan asked on her blog recently, "when did being drunk become a badge of honor?" Indeed.

I got another message from my stalker, basically apologizing for his many calls, saying he'd been drunk when he made them and was looking to "connect." The thing is--and I so don't want to make this about him, because it's about that statement and a million others--that of course we'd all love to do really stupid things and blame it on alcohol or drugs or someone else or whatever. I've been there, plenty of times. I still wish I were there sometimes, because I make really dumb mistakes and have no one else to blame them on but myself. Sometimes I even realize I'm making them as I'm making them, but the momentary high of whatever dumb thing I want to do weighs out. So it's not in a million years that I don't get it. But it's not and never will be an excuse. It's you, on alcohol, or whatever, not the alcohol itself.

So Starbucks is closing, like, now, and I have to get to work. This may be incomplete, and I may not have much of anything figured out, but I'm glad that at least I can own that, and, for the most part, accept that. It's not easy in any way, but it's real, and it's life, and I'm trying to get back to focusing a little more on me and what I need to be doing to get my life the way I want it.

Book trailer aftermath

I had a great time shooting the book trailer today. A HUGE thank you to everyone who helped - Sara, for going above and beyond the call for directorial duty, and having such a great eye and ear and contributing so much, Twanna for you enthusiasm, Desiree for the cake, taking a turn behind the camera, and being all around helpful, and Matt, for having good aim, S. for lending me so many fabulous spanking implements (we each had our favorites) and last but definitely not least, Heidi, for letting me use your apartment, again, for my smutty ways. All will be revealed by Thursday. Here's a shapshot of the aftermath:

Behind the scenes at the Spanked book trailer shoot

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Last minute SXSW request - food bloggers

Any big food bloggers interested in being on a panel at SXSW Interactive 2009 about food blogging, email me at rachelkb at gmail.com - yes, deadline is tonight!

Live from the set

On the set of the Spanked book trailer shoot - awesome so far!

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Friday, July 11, 2008

Argh - SO glad it's Friday!

Had a kindof aggravating day because even though my publisher Cleis Press got their copies of my new book Spanked in, mine, which I requested a while ago because I have In The Flesh on Thursday the 17th and a spanking talk/workshop on Saturday the 19th at TES, did not arrive. I am getting one at home tomorrow (fingers crossed!) so it can be put to special use in the book trailer, which shoots on Sunday and debuts next week. I'm a book trailer virgin so that's exciting but a little nervewracking. I am hoping the book comes in time so I can still partake of my massage with Desiree. I did get my very first royalty check for Naughty Spanking Stories from A to Z (which just covers my book trailer) and very cute photobooth snaps in the mail. Yes, it's true, I have a crush on the USPS. All of it.

Here's a photo of me from Media Meshing last night, with Bill Cammack (via his Flickr). Yes, my t-shirt, courtesy of the lovely Jess of Sugadeaux Cupcakes and imported from Australia, really says "My Cupcakes Bring All The Boys To the Yard." Even though there's only one boy I really care about like that. Still, love the shirt and will be wearing it often. You can get your own right here.



In one more bit of happy news, how gorgeous is this cover shot for Best Sex Writing 2009? It still has to be updated to reflect guest judge Brian Alexander, MSNBC sex columnist (and book is still in progress), but it makes me happy just to look at it. TGIF - have a great weekend everyone! And thanks to everyone who wrote me or commented about the stalker post. That situation is quiet for now, and I hope it stays that way. As for my decision to write about it - as with most of my life, that's how I best process things. It was important for me to document it, and to spread the word, both to get support and just to share. I understand people's qualms about my doing so, but I think on the Blogger 10 Commandments, there should be something like, "Don't tell someone what not to blog." Same goes for writing; I think it's kindof insulting to say that to someone (even though I know in the cases it happened with, it's from people who totally care about and support me). I'm just saying, I see both sides and made a decision. The idea that one should be cowed into silence by bullies/freaks/psychos/stalkers is, to my mind, akin to blaming the victim.

Reminder: July 17th is In The Flesh!

IN THE FLESH EROTIC READING SERIES
July 17th at 8 PM
AT HAPPY ENDING LOUNGE, 302 BROOME STREET, NYC
(B/D to Grand, J/M/Z to Bowery, F to Delancey or F/V to 2nd Avenue, http://www.happyendinglounge.com)
Admission: Free
Happy Ending Lounge: 212-334-9676
http://inthefleshreadingseries.blogspot.com

In The Flesh
features a range of authors, from erotic writers D.L. King, editor of Erotica Revealed, and Susan Wright (A Pound of Flesh) to letter lover Samara O’Shea (Note to Self, For the Lover of Letters), memoirist Scott Pomfret (Since My Last Confession), Jeremy Edwards, (Clean Sheets, F is for Fetish), novelist Anna David (Party Girl) and playwright/memoirist Rachel Shukert (Have You No Shame?). Hosted by Rachel Kramer Bussel (Spanked, Rubber Sex, Dirty Girls). Free candy and cupcakes will be served.

In the Flesh is a monthly reading series hosted at the appropriately named Happy Ending Lounge, and features the city's best erotic writers sharing stories to get you hot and bothered, hosted and curated by acclaimed erotic writer and editor Rachel Kramer Bussel. From erotic poetry to down and dirty smut, these authors get naked on the page and will make you lust after them and their words. Since its debut in October 2005, In the Flesh has featured such authors as Laura Antoniou, Mo Beasley, Lily Burana, Jessica Cutler, Tracie Egan, Stephen Elliott, Valerie Frankel, Polly Frost, Gael Greene, HoneyB, Andy Horwitz, Debra Hyde, Maxim Jakubowski, Emily Scarlet Kramer of CAKE, Josh Kilmer-Purcell, Edith Layton, Logan Levkoff, Suzanne Portnoy, Sofia Quintero, M.J. Rose, Lauren Sanders, Danyel Smith, Grant Stoddard, Cecilia Tan, Carol Taylor, Dana Vachon, Veronica Vera, Susan Wright, Zane and many others. The series has gotten press attention from the New York Times’s UrbanEye, Escape (Hong Kong), Flavorpill, The L Magazine, New York Magazine, Philadelphia City Paper, Time Out New York, Gothamist, Nerve.com and Wonkette, and has been praised by Dr. Ruth. This is not Amanda Stern’s Happy Ending Reading Series.



Rachel Kramer Bussel is Senior Editor at Penthouse Variations, conducts interviews for Mediabistro.com, and wrote the popular Lusty Lady column for The Village Voice. Her erotic stories have been published in over 100 anthologies, including Best American Erotica 2004 and 2006, and she’s edited numerous anthologies, most recently Spanked, Rubber Sex, Yes, Sir, Yes, Ma’am, Dirty Girls, and Best Sex Writing 2008. Rachel has also written for AVN, Bust, Cosmopolitan, Gothamist, Mediabistro, Metro, New York Post, Punk Planet, San Francisco Chronicle, Time Out New York and Velvetpark.
www.rachelkramerbussel.com



HarperCollins released Anna David's novel, Party Girl, in 2007, the same year that an essay of hers appeared in the Dutton anthology Girls Who Like Boys Who Like Boys. Harper Perennial will release Anna's second novel, Kept Waiting, in March of 2009. Anna is also the sex and relationship expert on G4’s Attack of the Show, appears every month on the Fox News cult favorite Red Eye as a cultural commentator, has been featured regularly on The Today Show, Hannity & Colmes, and Showbiz Tonight, and occasionally pops up on MTV News, VH1 and E. Her Sirius radio show on the Maxim channel, "Sex Files," is the network's number-one specialty show. A former magazine writer, Anna is now the dating columnist for the Women's Entertainment Network's website, wetv.com, as well as the Editor-in-Chief of musician will.i.am's political blog, Dipdive. She's written celebrity cover stories, first-person essays, and reported pieces for The New York Times, The LA Times, Vanity Fair, Cosmo, Redbook, Self, Stuff, TV Guide, Movieline, Women’s Health, Ocean Drive, Vegas, The Saturday Telegraph, Esquire UK, Teen Vogue, Variety, LA Confidential, Tatler (Hong Kong), Emmy, msn.com and Maxim, among others.
www.annadavid.com

Jeremy Edwards is a pseudonymous sort of fellow whose efforts at spinning libido into literature have been widely published online (at Clean Sheets, Good Vibrations, Erotic Woman, and other sites). Some of his many anthology trysts have occurred within the pages of A Is for Amour; F Is for Fetish; Got a Minute?; J Is for Jealousy; K Is for Kinky; Mammoth Book of Best New Erotica 7; Open for Business; and Rubber Sex. Out on the newsstand, his lascivious prose has been seen in Scarlet. Jeremy's greatest goal in life is to be sexy and witty at the same moment—ideally in lighting that flatters his profile. Drop in on him unannounced (and thereby catch him in his underwear) at http://jerotic.blogspot.com

D. L. King is the founder and editor of the critical review site, Erotica Revealed. Her second novel, The Art of Melinoe, was published by Renaissance E Books last October. Her short stories can be found in several anthologies, some of the most recent being Best Lesbian Erotica 2008, Yes, Sir: Erotic Stories of Female Submission and Yes, Ma'am: Erotic Stories of Male Submission. She is currently editing a new anthology for Cleis Press.
www.dlkingerotica.com



Samara O'Shea is an outspoken advocate on behalf of the written word. She is the author of the forthcoming Note to Self: On Keeping a Journal and Other Dangerous Pursuits (July 2008) and For the Love of Letters: A 21st-Century Guide to the Art of Letter Writing. For more information or to order a letter that Samara will gladly write on your behalf, visit LetterLover.net.



Scott D. Pomfret is author of Since My Last Confession, an irreverent and lighthearted memoir in the style of Michael Moore’s Roger & Me describing three years of stalking the Archbishop of Boston during the Massachusetts same-sex marriage debate. Pomfret’s other works include Romentics gay romance novels, The Q Guide to Wine and Cocktails, and dozens of short stories.
www.scottpomfret.com www.sincemylastconfession.com



Rachel Shukert is an author, playwright, and performer. Her first book, Have You No Shame? And Other Regrettable Stories, was published in April 2008 by Random House/Villard. Rachel's plays include Bloody Mary, Johnny Applefucker, The Worshipped, The Red Beard of Esau, and Sequins for Satan have been produced and developed extensively throughout New York City, Massachusetts, and the Netherlands. She is currently starring in the live soap opera "Wasp Cove" which she co-creates and writes with Julie Klausner. She is also a co-founder of the theater group the Bushwick Hotel. Her writing has appeared in Nerve, Heeb, McSweeney's, and Babble, and featured in Best Sex Writing 2008 (Rachel Kramer Bussel, ed.), Best American Erotic Poems: 1800-present (ed. David Lehman) and The Future of Misbehavior (Chronicle Books) alongside Rick Moody, Douglas Rushkoff, and Will Self. She was born in raised in Omaha, Nebraska, and now lives in NYC with her husband and her cat.
www.rachelshukert.com



Susan Wright's latest erotic fantasy novel is A Pound of Flesh, the sequel to To Serve and Submit, published by Penguin Books. Susan is also the founder and spokesperson for the National Coalition for Sexual Freedom. She's written over 25 novels and nonfiction books on art and popular culture.
www.susanwright.info

Thursday, July 10, 2008

Hotness

I am glad to see I'm not the only one smitten with Jackson's post about menswear. I sent it to Hitha, my fashion jouralist guru. Guys into clothes should also check out See Jack Shop, run by Kathryn Finney of The Budget Fashionista fame (who is organizing a Fashion for Obama event!!). I will say I find it highly amusing that I am way, way less of a fashionista or foodie than Jackson is. But that just adds to the hotness. I can learn about cheese gougères, right? It all balances out.

I actually abhor smoking, but he manages to make it look hot, as in this shot taken during an interminable wait for the LA bus (which ended with the bus never coming and Amelia G and Forrest Black of Blue Blood to the rescue):

He makes smoking look sexy

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Flogger noise = "a dirty Rice Krispies commercial"



I love this flogger review (yeah, I know it's from 2007, but I can still appreciate it, right? Is there an expiration date on linking?) over at fabulous feminist sex toy store Early to Bed (Chicago). It's short, sweet, to the point, and gives a breakfast cereal shoutout:

Some people think you have to join a dungeon or have criminal tendencies to enjoy the benefits of a good flogging, whether giving or receiving, but this is not the case. On the contrary, the complex pleasure of enduring, witnessing, causing or sharing another’s pain can be a pretty amazing experience. A much more gratifying kind of pain than, say, stubbing a toe or walking into a glass door, pain that you actually want (to inflict or endure) is a different beast altogether, a sexy beast, which is why floggers like Molly come in so handy in a pinch (or when you’re tired of being pinched). A 12-inch mini flogger with 18 3/8 inch tails, Molly is a perfect toy for beginner flog-ers and flog-ees. Made with a very soft, supple and sensual leather, Molly offers a terrific pop, with little sting and almost no thud. (that sounds like a dirty Rice Krispies commercial)

A great genital or chest whip, mini floggers are kinder and gentler implements of skin sensation, meaning they won’t leave irreparable damage, unlike riding crops or listening to a lot of Mariah Carey. In general, the more tails, the more bite a flogger will have, so mini floggers are good for testing out the waters of your pain tolerance.


Keep reading

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Friendterview with Twanna Hines

If Sarah Lacy can use the word "friend-tor" (friend/mentor) in her book Once You're Lucky, Twice You're Good, I think I can use the word friendterview, right?

Here's mine with my friend Twanna Hines. Well, it's more her critique of a cupcake from Daiuto's this afternoon. Enjoy! You can also watch the rest of our cupcake interviews on our YouTube channel.

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Stalking: How It Starts

I just wanted to publicly share this, to say how outraged I am and that it’s not okay. No matter what you may think about someone, there is a time to share your thoughts, and there is a time not to. And I am making this public, and will publicize this person’s name and phone number if I have to, because I am not going to be intimidated by some psychotic asshole.

I have never had a stalker, and I say that in a “knock on wood” kind of way. Even when I was writing my dumb little sex column. I hope I don’t have one now.

Last night I was on the Upper West Side, having just had dinner with my mom and stepdad. I had a voicemail from a number I didn’t recognize, and it was someone saying, “Hi Rachel, I’m on Sixth Avenue and thought of you. Give me a call.” I listened again and wasn’t sure if they said their name and it got cut off or didn’t give one. I have a relatively new cell phone so there are friends whose numbers still haven’t made it into my phone. I also never ever answer if I don’t know who’s calling.

I wrote:

“Hey – sorry to be rude but who Is this? Tx. Rachel”

Then a text, “Rachel, this Sunday come to Grand Army Plaza.”

I wrote again, “Who is this?”

The reply I got was, “A friend.”

I quickly figured out it was the asshole who sent me these two emails below, neither of which I responded to. We had corresponded about an article I was writing a few months ago (a non-sex related one) that wound up getting killed, which is how he had my number.

Rachel,

I hope you're doing well. I read an article this morning about the new babeland store opening up. It's right down the block from my front door, only a few storefronts away. Here it is: http://www.brownstoner.com/brownstoner/archives/2008/06/slope_babeland.php#comments

It made me want to invite you over to my place sometime soon, and have you bring along your favorite toy. I would help you use it by giving you a long backrub, footrub, brushing your hair, caressing your skin in long slow circles. And then to end everything we could use some baby oil on your chest and I'd put myself into your cleavage. Email me if this sounds like fun...I want it to be fun for both of us. You're really cool and I'm a little initimdated by you, and I'd like to see you again.

Be well,
John

Hi,

I saw you at Grand Army Plaza recently less than two weeks ago. It was a Monday I think: you were outside the stop checking your messages and I was exiting up the stairs. I thought, "Aren't you Rachel Kramer Bussel?" But you were making a phone call, and I didn't want to interrupt. You looked really thin. I read you were working out a lot and so I recognized you.

Anyway, I am into hearing from you...my number is 718-XXX-XXXX.

Best,
John


Immediately, I texted:

“Please don’t ever contact me again. Rachel”

He texted back, “But I saw your myspace tho.” and then called me from another 718 number and said something about hanging out and how we’re friends.

Well, I’ll say this: We are not friends and never will be. I think he is a crazy freak and am saving all his messages in case I need to go to the police. It’s highly disturbing to me that people think that for whatever their own fucked up, socially inept reasons, they can pull this shit on people, and by people, I mean women. It’s NOT okay and I think anyone contemplating such bullshit needs to be reminded of that.

And I won’t lie – my first instinct is to further remove myself from the “sex world" as some kind of preventative measure. I have already stated my issues with being known as a “sex writer,” but at the same time, if I capitulate to this stupidity, I am giving in to it, plus, I could never write another word about sex again and that really wouldn’t change the reality of what’s on the internet or some people’s inability to realize that women writing about sex do not and never will want to fuck you. I think it’s sad that this person can’t differentiate between common sense and stalker-like behavior. I am not done with sex writing and while I know people like this are in the minority, it's still utterly unnerving to have to deal with.

I hope this is the end of this drama, and it makes me ever more grateful for the sane people who can tell the difference between public and private, and can engage with intelligent, or even just titillating, discussions about sex and sex writing without devolving into behavior like this.

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Wednesday, July 09, 2008

Lindsay Lohan's Marilyn Monroe birthday cake

Los Angeles bakery Cake and Art crafted Lindsay Lohan's 22nd birthday cake in the theme of Marilyn Monroe. It's on the front page of their site, and on Flickr. And yes, there were also cupcakes. Here's more Cake and Art celeb and event photos.

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Monday, July 14th: Cupcake Craft Night at Etsy Labs in Brooklyn

Reposted from Cupcakes Take the Cake - and if you're not yet a member of the NYC Cupcakes Take the Cake Meetup group, please join! We have lots of fun stuff planned.

We wanted to give a plug to our next NYC Cupcakes Take the Cake Meetup (please sign up and stay tuned for August's Delicious Sandwich Social/Cupcakes Take the Cake gathering), which is our 2nd Cupcake Craft Night at Etsy Labs. This event is on Monday, July 14th so please mark your calendars and tell your friends!



From Etsy :

This week we are pleased to announce a very special edition of Monday Craft Night. The Etsy Labs and Cupcakes Take the Cake join forces to bring you an evening of cupcake-themed crafting. We will spend this sweet evening making cupcake-inspired crafts — which seem to be quite popular with shoppers on Etsy. We will demonstrate Gocco printing, buttonmaking, and sewing. You will learn how to print postcards, make pinback buttons, and simple plushie cupcakes. Or, let your mind run wild and create cupcake creations of any kind! Supplies are provided, though you are welcome to bring any special papers or fabrics to incorporate into your projects.

  • When: Monday July 14, 6-8pm

Not in Brooklyn? Join us for a live broadcast and demos in the Treehouse room of the Virtual Labs. If you are joining us virtually for Craft Night this week and would like to craft along with us, you'll need to bring paper, pen, scissors, and fabric. Or, you may just want to come and watch, ask questions, and take notes.

Get your sweet tooth ready to feast on cupcakes and crafts!

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My Stuff White People Like interview in Penthouse

My interview with Christian Lander, founder of the site Stuff White People Like and author of the recent book of the same name, is in the August issue of Penthouse. (print only) You can find out what kind of sex and porn white people like. I also enjoyed this interview with him in Heeb.



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Tuesday, July 08, 2008

Sex/spanking/BDSM bloggers - want to be part of my virtual book tour?



I'm looking for about a dozen more sex/spanking/BDSM blogs (or general interest blogs like Funky Brown Chick, by people who are into the topic) to join my August virtual book tour for my new book Spanked: Red-Cheeked Erotica. You get a free book and in return I assign you a day where you can review the book, talk about spanking, run an interview and/or the book trailer, run an excerpt, etc., and post the cover and 2 links. If you're interested, write to me at spankingantho at gmail.com - we cannot include everyone, so please know that in advance. Blogs with higher traffic will be given priority.

Everyone else! There will be contests during the tour where you can win a copy of the book, plus excerpts, interviews, and the book trailer, which debuts next week. Feel free to pass this on to anyone who might be interested. We'll be finalizing this...ASAP. Thanks!

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